Arrivals of Iron Ore at Ports Decline

SHANGHAI, Mar 7 (SMM) - Iron ore futures prices remained volatile yesterday, with the most-traded 2301 iron ore contract closing down 2.13% at 897 yuan/mt. Traders were less active in delivery while steel mills were wait-and-see, hence the market trading atmosphere was cold. The transaction prices of PB fines in Shandong stood at 894-910 yuan/mt, down 11-31 yuan/mt from last week.  The transaction prices of PB fines in Tangshan were 918 yuan/mt yesterday, down 12 -17 yuan/mt from last week. Over the weekend, the data released during the “Two Sessions” was lower than market expectations.

According to SMM research, the total global iron ore shipments stood at 30.87 million mt last week, down 1.6% on the week. The arrivals at China's major ports has dropped significantly, and the output of pig iron from steel mills increased slightly.